CitySwitch Award

With Gordon Bateup, Director

Our win in the AIPM awards wasn’t our only gong in recent months. ACORPP’s green credentials have been endorsed by CitySwitch, a leading advocate of environmental excellence in the tenancy sector.

Its 2017 national awards recognised members who demonstrated outstanding environmental leadership while achieving, maintaining or improving their NABERS rating and reducing their energy costs. ACORPP’s state win was assessed on a range of criteria that examined its environmental action plan and the implementation of any innovative, creative or progressive initiatives. It also acknowledged the incorporation of CitySwitch resources, and promotion of their Australia’s Flagship Sustainability Program through all business communications and collateral. Director Gordon Bateup accepted the award on ACORPP’s behalf at a ceremony in Perth. “It was great to be recognised – we really believe the development of environmentally sustainable practices are important in the modern workplace,” he said. “The satisfying aspect of our entry was that the team found it really easy to develop new habits and to stick with them.”

The cost of making changes had also been minimal. “We set out to reduce waste, power consumption, emissions, and to encourage people to walk, cycle or take public transport to work,” Gordon said. “A couple of the initiatives were really simple – everyone now gets a coffee cup rather than using a paper one. We take our cups to the local café for a refill.” Paper dependency in the office has been reduced by the removal of rubbish bins by team members’ desks and indoor plants introduced to improve air quality. “The best right brain initiative was the solution to the disposal of green waste – that goes home with one of the team to feed their chooks,” Gordon said. “It doesn’t take much to make changes that really make a difference – we’ve proved it and we’re more than happy to share what we’ve learned with any other offices who want to go green.”